Setting means for watertight clock



April 21, 1964 R. Ai FIECHTER SETTING MEANS FOR WATERTIGHT CLOCK Filed0G13. 18, 1960 INVENTOR RNE A. FIECHTER Mg@ @9% HIS AT TORN EYS UnitedStates Patent O 3,129,557 SETTING MEANS FOR WATERTHGHT CLGCK Rene A.Fiechter, 137 Hollywood Ave., Douglaston, N.Y. Filed ct. 18, 1960, Ser.No. 63,312 5 Claims. (Cl. S15-85.5)

The present invention relates to clocks and more specifically to new andimproved clock apparatus that is of particular utility in applicationswhere unfavorable ambient conditions obtain as on shipboard, forexample, although it is not limited to such use.

It has been difcult heretofore to keep clocks in good operatingcondition for extended periods under the generally adverse conditionsprevailing on shipboard. The humidity is usually very high and in thecase of ocean going vessels the atmosphere frequently contains linedroplets of salt water. These conditions tend to cause rapid oxidationof metal clock parts and of the lubricants commonly employed to reducefriction in the clock mechanism. Clocks incorporating electricalcomponents such as switch contacts and transistors, for example, arealso adversely .affected by these unfavorable factors. As a result, thetimekeeping qualities of clocks used on shipboard tend to be soonimpaired and frequent failures occur. This presents difficult andexpensive problems of maintenance on a large vessel where a considerablenumber of clocks are used.

It is an object of the invention to provide new and improved clockapparatus which is fully protected against adverse ambient conditionssuch as high humidity and salt water droplets.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved clockapparatus of the above character incorporating novel time settingmechanism.

These and other objects of the invention are attained by mounting theclock mechanism in a sealed envelope which is either evacuated orcontains an inert gas. In this fashion, the delicate clock mechanism ismade completely inaccessible to unfavorable ambient conditions thatmight tend to damage it or impair its timekeeping qualities. Theinvention also contemplates the provision of means for changing the timesetting of the clock mechanism without removing it from the sealedenvelope in which it is contained.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to thefollowing detailed description of several representative embodimentsthereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a view in longitudinal section of clock apparatus constructedaccording to the invention; and

FIG. 2 is also a view in longitudinal section of a modied clockapparatus embodying a different form of time setting mechanism from thatshown in FIG. l.

While the invention may be effectively utilized in conjunction with anyform of clock movement whatsoever, it will be described herein, forpurposes of illustration, as applied to a conventional electric(transistor or switch contact) clock movement.

In the form of the invention shown in FIG. l, a .con ventional electricclock movement with the usual dial 11, and minute and hour hands 12 and13, respectively, is mounted within a sealed envelope 14. The envelope14 comprises a rear plate 15 having a central cylindrical well 16 formedtherein to receive the clock movement 10 lCe and a front cover member 17cemented or otherwise secured to the outer edge of the plate 15 so as toform an airtight joint. The cover member 17 should be made of atransparent material such as glass and the rear plate 15 may also bemade of glass, although other suitable materials can be used. Leads 18and 19 for supplying electrical energy to the clock mechanism 10 extendfrom the latter to sockets 20 and 21 sealed in the rear plate 15 andaccessible from outside the envelope 14. Also sealed in the rear platemember 15 is a short tube 22 of glass or other suitable material throughwhich the envelope 14 may be evacuated and then sealed. If desired, aninert gas such as nitrogen may be introduced into the envelope 14 afterthe latter has been evacuated and before the tube 22 is sealed.

The sealed envelope 14 is mounted llush against a body member 23 havinga central recess 24 formed therein to receive the central cylindricalwell portion 16 of the rear plate 15. A bezel member Z5 retains theenvelope 14 and the body member 23 releasably in assembled relationship.Preferably, suitable annular gaskets 26, 27 and 28 made of ilexiblematerial such as rubber, for example, are interposed between theenvelope 14 and the body member 23, as shown in FIG. 1. Also, a gasket29 is preferably interposed between the outer lip 30 of the bezel member25 and the envelope 14.

The body member 23 is hingedly mounted at 31 to a backing plate 32 whichmay be secured in any suitable manner to a wall or other support. Formedin the backing plate 32 is a recess 34 which cooperates with recesses 35and 36 formed in the body member 23 to constitute a battery chamber 37and a passage for leads therefrom to the sockets 2l) and 21 in the rearplate 15 behind the clock mechanism 10. A conventional dry cell battery38 is mounted in the chamber 37 between spring contact brackets 39secured to the body member 23. Leads 40 and 41 connect plugs 20a and 21ainserted in the sockets 20 and 21, respectively, to the two batteryterminals as shown in the ligure.

It will be understood that the battery 38 can easily be removed andreplaced simply by pivoting the body member 23 about the hinge 31 toprovide access to the battery chamber 37.

In accordance with the invention, the clock mechanism 10 is adapted tobe set to the correct time by magnetic means external to the envelope14. In one embodiment, this may be a simple bar magnet 42 which ispositioned with one pole against the outer face of the envelope 14adjacent the minute hand 12. The latter should be made of magneticmaterial such as soft iron, for example, so as to be attracted to themagnet 42. Also, provision should be made, as by bending the tip 43 ofthe minute hand 12 forwardly towards the cover member 17 of the envelope14, to insure that the minute hand 12 will not come into engagement withthe hour hand 13 while the clock mechanism 1t) is being set. By movingmagnet 42 in a circular path in contact wih the outer face of theenvelope 14, the minute hand 12 can be rotated to any desired setting.If desired, an annular groove 42a may be formed in the outer face of theenvelope 14 to serve as a guide for the magnet 42, but this is notnecessary.

FIG. 2 illustrates another form of magnetic means for setting the clockmechanism 10 from outside the envelope 14 according to the invention. Inthis embodiment, the minute hand 12 extends almost to the inner sidewall of the envelope 14 and it terminates in a pole piece 44 of magneticmaterial such as soft iron. The minute hand 12 is adapted to be moved bya permanent magnet 45 which normally is kept away from the pole piece 44but can be moved into close proximity thereto when the clock setting isto be changed. To this end, the magnet 45 is carried by a ring gear 46disposed in an annular groove 47 formed in the body member. Resilientmeans such as the springs 48 normally urge the ring gear rearwardly sothat the magnet is kept away from the pole piece 44 on the minute hand.

The ring gear 46 is adapted to be rotated about the body portion 23 by apinion 49 carried by a shaft 50 which can be turned by a knob 51 locatedat the front of the clock apparatus. The shaft 50 is also mechanicallyconnected to the ring gear 46 by any suitable coupling 52 permittingrotation of the shaft 50, so that when the knob 51 is pulled away fromthe clock and turned, the magnet 45 can be brought into proximity withthe pole piece 44 on the minute hand 12, which they will follow themagnet 45. One advantage of this structure is that the magnet exertsonly a radial force on the minute f hand 12 so that there is nolikelihood of the minute hand 12 coming into engagement with the hourhand 13.

In order to protect the clock movement 10 from the effects of themagnetic field, a magnetic shield 53 of suitable material such as softiron may be interposed between the dial 11 and the clock movement 10.Alternatively, the dial 11 may be made of suitable magnetic material soas to serve as a magnetic shield.

It will be apparent that the novel clock structure of the inventionenables maintenance procedures to be greatly simpliiied. In the irstplace, by mounting the clock movement in a sealed envelope whichprotects it from adverse ambient conditions, the number and frequency ofclock failures is much reduced. Secondly, when failures do occur, it isa very simple matter to remove the defective clock movement in itssealed envelope and to replace it with another in good working order.This requires only that the body member 23 be swung upwardly about itshinge 31 to permit the plugs 20a and 21a to be removed from the sockets20 and 21 and that the bezel member 25 be detached so that the envelope14 containing the clock movement 10 can be removed and replaced byanother. An adequate supply of replacement clock movements in sealedenvelopes can be kept for long periods of time even in ships stores onshipboard and still remain in perfect condition,

If the defective clock movement is an inexpensive one, so that repairswould not be worth while, it can be thrown away in its sealed envelope.On the other hand, if an expensive movement is used, the defective unitcan be returned to a repair facility for removal from its sealedenvelope and repair, following which it can again be mounted in a sealedenvelope and returned to stock.

The invention thus provides novel clock apparatus that is of particularutility under adverse ambient conditions, such as those that prevail onshipboard. By mounting the clock movement in a sealed envelope that iseither evacuated or contains an inert gas, it can be effectivelyprotected from humidity or salt in the air. Moreover, the inventionprovides highly eifective'magnetic means for setting the time of theclock movement from the outside of the envelope in which the movement iscontained.

The several specific embodiments are only typical and many variations inform and detail are possible within the scope of the invention. Forexample, the envelope may be made of materials other than glass,provided only that it is impermeable to air and humidity and permits thehands to be viewed therethrough. A rechargeable battery may be used inplace .of the dry cell 38. Also, while the several clocks shown areintended to be mounted on a wall or the like, the invention can beembodied in other forms of clocks as desk clocks, mantel clocks and thelike, and shapes other than circular may be used. Other modificationswill be apparent to those skilled in the art.

The invention, therefore, is not to be limited to the specific devicesdescribed herein but is intended to encompass all modications thereoffalling within the scope of the following claims.

I claim: Y

l. In clock apparatus, the combination of a sealed envelope, clock meansin said envelope and having a minute hand and an hour hand, at least apart of said minute hand being made of magnetic material and lyingadjacent the side wall of said envelope, and at least a portion of saidenvelope being transparent so that said minute hand and said hour handare visible therethrough, magnet means normally maintained away fromsaid envelope and movable in proximity to said envelope along a pathclosely adjacent the path followed by said minute hand magnetic portion,and manually operable means for positioning said magnetic means inproximity to said envelope and for moving it along said path to movesaid minute hand.

2. In clock apparatus, the combination of sealed envelope, clockmovement means in said envelope and having at least one time indicatinghand mounted for rotation about an axis, at least a part of said timeindicating hand being made of magnetic material and traversing acircular path lying adjacent a wall of said envelope, and at least aportion of said envelope being transparent so that said time indicatinghand is visible therethrough, and magnet means manually movableselectively from an inactive position away from the path swept by saidhand part of said magnetic material to an active position externally ofsaid envelope and in proximity to said path, and movable while at saidposition in a path parallel and close to the path swept by said handpart to move said time indicating hand to a selected position.

3. In clock apparatus, the combination of a sealed envelope, clockmovement means in said envelope and having at least one time indicatinghand mounted for rotation about an axis, at least a part of said timeindicating hand being made of magnetic material and traversing a pathlying adjacent a wall of said envelope, and at least a portion of saidenvelope being transparent so that said time indicating hand is visibletherethrough, manually operable magnet means, shiftable selectively andaxially of the circular path swept by the part of said time indicatinghand made of magnetic material, from an inactive position spacedlaterally from said path to an active position externally of saidenvelope and in proximity to said path, and rotatable about an axisparallel to the axis of rotation of said time indicating hand, and means4adapted to cooperate with said magnet means when in said activeposition for constraining the same to a path of movement parallel andclosely adjacent the path normally followed by said hand part ofmagnetic material.

4. In clock apparatus, the combination of a sealed envelope, clockmovement means in said envelope and having a minute hand and an hourhand, at least a part of said minute hand being made of magneticmaterial and lying adjacent the side wall of said envelope, and at leasta portion of said envelope being transparent so that said minute handand said hour hand are visible therethrough, carrier means shiftablealong, and rotatable about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation ofsaid minute and hour hands, magnet means mounted on said carrier means,means normally urging said carrier means in one direction to positionsaid magnet means away from the path followed by said minute handmagnetic portion, and manually operable means for shifting said carriermeans in the opposite direction to position said magnet means adjacentsaid path and for rotating said carrier means to displace the magnetmeans along said path to move said minute hand.

5. Clock apparatus as defined in claim 4 in which said carrier meanscomprises ring gear means, the manually operable means comprises piniongear means coupled to said ring gear means for rotating the same and forshifting it axially, and magnetic shield means is interposed betweensaid clock movement means and said magnet 5 means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS228,193 Haven June 1, 1880 10 595,911 Fischer Dec. 21, 1897 1,827,179Whitehead et al Oct. 13, 1931

1. IN CLOCK APPARATUS, THE COMBINATION OF A SEALED ENVELOPE, CLOCK MEANSIN SAID ENVELOPE AND HAVING A MINUTE HAND AND AB HOUR HAND, AT LEAST APART OF SAID MINUTE HAND BEING MADE OF MAGNETIC MATERIAL AND LYINGADJACENT THE SIDE WALL OF SAID ENVELOPE, AND AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAIDENVELOPE BEING TRANSPARENT SO THAT SAID MINUTE HAND AND SAID HOUR HANDARE VISIBLE THERETHROUGH, MAGNET MEANS NORMALLY MAINTAINED AWAY FROMSAID ENVELOPE AND MOVABLE IN PROXIMITY TO SAID ENVELOPE ALONG A PATHCLOSELY ADJACENT THE PATH FOLLOWED BY SAID MINUTE HAND MAGNETIC PORTION,AND MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS FOR POSITIONING SAID MAGNETIC MEANS INPROXIMITY TO SAID ENVELOPE AND FOR MOVING IT ALONG SAID PATH TO MOVESAID MINUTE HAND.